Is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S Worth Your Money? A Deep Dive Review
Xiaomi has become synonymous with offering a ton of options at different price points, and their Redmi series has been a cornerstone of this strategy. However, with so many choices available, it can be tough to figure out which Redmi phone is right for you. The Redmi Note 11S, with its impressive 108-megapixel camera, seems like a tempting option, but is it truly a worthy upgrade, especially with the Redmi Note 11 Pro series just around the corner? Let’s dive into our detailed review to find out!
Redmi Note 11S: Price and Variants
The Redmi Note 11S is available in three configurations, catering to different budget needs:
- 6GB RAM + 64GB Storage: ₹16,499
- 6GB RAM + 128GB Storage: ₹17,499
- 8GB RAM + 128GB Storage: ₹18,499
Redmi Note 11S: Design and Display
Aesthetically, the Redmi Note 11S falls a bit flat. While the blue and polar white variants might look better in photos, the black version, which we reviewed, is quite unremarkable. The plastic frame and back panel, however, feel sturdy and comfortable to hold. It’s surprisingly light (179g) and not overly thick, making it easy to pocket. The main camera bump, though, does stick out a bit, making the phone unstable if you try to use it on a flat surface.
Where the design lacks excitement, the 6.43-inch AMOLED display attempts to make up for it. It boasts a remarkable peak brightness of 1000 nits, ensuring clear visuals even in bright sunlight. The display comes with a 90Hz refresh rate (which you’ll need to enable manually, as it defaults to 60Hz), a basic 180Hz touch sampling rate, and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against scratches. The full-HD+ resolution ensures sharp visuals and vibrant colours.
Redmi Note 11S: Connectivity and Features
The Redmi Note 11S supports dual Nano-SIM cards and a microSD card, all within the same tray. It’s a welcome addition, particularly considering the 128GB cap on built-in storage.
The phone also packs in some impressive features for its price range:
- Dual speakers
- Type-C port
- IR emitter
- Headphone jack
- IP53 water and dust resistance rating
The box includes a 33W fast charging adapter, a USB Type-C cable, a SIM eject tool, and a case.
Redmi Note 11S: Performance and Battery Life
The Redmi Note 11S is powered by the MediaTek Helio G96 SoC. While capable enough for handling basic apps and games, it’s built on a slightly older 12nm fabrication process, which might affect its efficiency. The phone features dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5, and all the essential satellite navigation systems. It also houses a 5,000mAh battery, large enough to comfortably last a full day on a single charge.
The Redmi Note 11S runs MIUI 13 based on Android 11, which is slightly disappointing given the newer Android 12 version is available. The user interface is familiar to those who have used recent Xiaomi phones, offering the usual theming options, shortcuts, and gestures, and is unfortunately bundled with a plethora of pre-installed apps. While most third-party apps can be uninstalled, certain first-party apps, such as Mi Pay, cannot.
The phone offers a decent performance, allowing smooth navigation and multitasking with basic apps and games. The capacitive fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button functions reliably. The AMOLED panel enables a sort of always-on display functionality, although it only stays active for 10 seconds at a time, meaning it’s not truly always on.
Videos look good on the display, but the stereo sound lacks balance, with the bottom speaker being significantly clearer than the earpiece. Games perform well, but heavy titles might run with restricted graphics options. For instance, Call of Duty: Mobile didn’t even offer the "High" graphics option and limited most advanced quality settings. Although gameplay remained smooth, the visual quality wasn’t as impressive as expected.
Xiaomi claims to have incorporated a liquid cooling system to keep the phone cool under stress, but after a 30-minute session of Call of Duty, the back and the frame still felt quite warm. In benchmark tests, the Redmi Note 11S performs predictably, achieving a bit lower scores than the Redmi Note 11T 5G equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC. It scored 310,732 points in AnTuTu and ran at 51fps in GFXBench’s T-Rex test.
Battery life is surprisingly good. The 5,000mAh battery comfortably delivers a full day’s worth of usage even with heavy use. With lighter workloads, you can expect even longer battery life. The 33W fast charging enables rapid battery charging.
Redmi Note 11S: Camera Performance
The Redmi Note 11S boasts a 108-megapixel main camera utilizing the Samsung HM2 sensor. By default, it captures 12-megapixel pixel-binned photos, but you can opt for native 108-megapixel resolution pictures as well. Under bright sunlight, this camera manages to capture good detail, although colours in photos, with or without the AI feature enabled, can appear heavily exaggerated. The optional Pro Colour mode further amplifies vibrancy, rendering photos quite artificial. Shooting at the full 108-megapixel resolution offers much better detail and more importantly, better colour control, resulting in more natural-looking images under our tests.
The Redmi Note 11S struggles with autofocus when shooting close-up objects with the main camera, often requiring a few taps on the viewfinder to lock focus. Close-ups look good under controlled lighting, but struggle under bright sunlight with exaggerated colours. The main sensor performs poorly in low light. Shooting at the full 108-megapixel resolution doesn’t improve low-light performance, and the only option is to employ Night mode. While Night mode takes a couple of seconds longer to capture a shot, it delivers slightly better detail and exposure. The lack of Night mode functionality for the ultra-wide or selfie cameras is a notable omission.
The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera offers a more restrained colour profile when shooting during the day, which is a positive change. Photos captured in low-light conditions are expectedly weak and blurry, with poor colour reproduction. The Redmi Note 11S features a basic 2-megapixel macro camera, which falls short of the impressive tele-macro camera featured in the Note 10 Pro series. Consequently, the macro photos are not as impressive. There’s also a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
The 16-megapixel selfie camera captures decent photos during the day, although noticeable oversharpening appears when using Portrait mode for the same frame. Selfies taken indoors are adequate provided there is sufficient ambient lighting, but outdoor nighttime selfies suffer from poor quality.
The Redmi Note 11S is limited to 1080p video recording with stabilisation. However, the video quality, even during broad daylight, is merely average. Low-light video performance is undeniably poor and falls short of the expectations for a phone in this price segment.
Redmi Note 11S: Verdict
The Redmi Note 11S feels like a temporary solution until the Redmi Note 11 Pro series is released. If you’re already set on a Redmi phone, last year’s Redmi Note 10 Pro offers better value at the same price point. While the 108-megapixel camera is the phone’s main talking point, its performance is only impressive when shooting at the native resolution during the day. Otherwise, it’s a strictly average camera, as are the rest of the sensors. The SoC, while capable, isn’t particularly powerful for a phone in this price range. The absence of 5G support further diminishes its appeal.
We recommend holding off on purchasing this phone until better options are released. The upcoming Redmi Note 11 Pro series is very likely to offer more compelling features and performance at comparable prices.
